I’d like to discuss advances / affordability with UV printers, there are some great conversations here, but the threads been closed. so I am opening up a new one
lets start with THIS:
The Epson SureColor V7000 will be available in January 2021 for under $100,000 (MSRP) through select authorized Epson Professional Imaging resellers. The printer is designed to work exclusively with Epson ink.
Nov 23, 2020
Yike! You must have deep pockets!
well, I can fit my fingertips in them 
It should probably be noted that isn’t a Rikoh printer, but they are using Rikoh printhead(s).
I’ve researched UV printers a bit, and have almost made the leap but pulled back. I don’t know for sure what would work best for me - roll-to-roll, flatbed, or hybrid. But, the research that I’ve done indicates that they can be very finicky, even the high dollar ones, and maintenance costs can get pretty high (maintenance cycles eating ink, etc.).
I’ve wanted a UV printer ever since I found these guys that turned a single product (printed slate plaques) into a very successful crafting biz on every online marketplace from Etsy to Amazon to Wayfair. They started with dye sub and a vacuum heat press, but moved onto flatbed UV printing them.
When I looked into it, the cheapest ones that looked useful and reliable to me were around $25-30K. I didn’t feel like I could make enough product with one to justify that kind of expense unless I was willing to hire help, and I don’t want to be an employer right now.
You can get printers that do dye sublimation and heat transfer toner prints from the same machine for ~$4000, which I’ll probably impulse buy some night. With a heat press, that lets you do full color design on almost anything, from shirts to sheets of wood, including printing in white on dark materials.
Shipping is only 9 dollars! Wow! Can’t say no to that!
I’ve wanted to try puzzles with UV, there are a handful that use it instead of paper for wood puzzles now. After seeing these prices, I think I’ll stick with my local maker space that has one!
I think it has some neat possibilities. You can print on acrylic as well. Being able to build/print textures though I think would be amazing. Not sure what that does to the ink consumption (ergo costs) but definitely interesting.
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